The Lovereading4Kids comment

More hilarious fun as Hiccup the Viking continues his pirate training programme enduring the disgusting food, learning dragonese and now getting lost in the Library Labyrinth with the Driller Dragons and Madguts the Murderous on the Prowl. Following both words and pictures creates a fabulous and fantastical words of dragons, Vikings and general chaos. Luckily, the inclusion of a dragonese dictionary means readers can make sense of it all. Just!

Synopsis

A Hero's Guide To Deadly Dragons by Cressida Cowell

Delve into this special volume of Hiccups memoirs to find a brand new exciting adventure, a detailed map of the Archipelago and lots more dragon profiles! Also contains a comprehensive Dragonese Dictionary for those whod like to dragon-whisper as well as the dragon-whisperer himself

Reviews

A book to dip into, with jokes, riddles and everything you wanted to know about Hiccup's world Publishing News Brilliantly funny Bournemouth Daily Echo 'exuberantly illustrated ... laugh out-loud books, they will convert even the most relcutant reader to take their first dip.

-out-loud books, they will convert even the most reluctant reader to take their first dip Times Eductaional Supplement 'a hilarious and gripping adventure, beautifully paced and studded with great dramatic scenes.

'Fiercely exciting and laugh-aloud funny, it is as full of joy for children of 7+ who have given up reading as for those who love it.'

'S BOOK OF THE WEEK: This book is great fun and has a Blackadderish sense of humour ... full of the sort of jokes that will make schoolboys snigger. Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times How to Train Your Dragon is a delightful narrative caper... It offers a challenging read to 11-year-olds, and rewards reading aloud, especially for those who relish an element of theatre at story time. Sunday Herald, Glasgow ... raucous and slapstick ... liberally illustrated with [Cressida Cowell's] riotous drawings, notes and maps. The Financial Times [Cressida Cowell] puts a contemporary spin on the old brains over brawn moral and brings the story to a climax with a thrilling dragon duel. Lots for lots of different readers to enjoy. Books for Keeps Bulging with good jokes, funny drawings and dramatic scenes, it is absolutely wonderful. Independent on Sunday 'funny, outrageous and will lure in the most reluctant reader.'

'If you haven't discovered Hiccup yet, you're missing out on one of the greatest inventions of modern children's literature.'

's editor'

About the Author

Cressida Cowell grew up in London and on a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland. The name of the island is a secret, but it was such a small island it wasn’t really big enough to have a name at all. There were no roads or shops or electricity on the island, just one house and a storm-blown wilderness of sea-birds and heather.

Every year, Cressida’s family spent four weeks of the summer, and two weeks of the spring, on the island. The family had to catch their own fish to eat. The house was lit by candle-light, and there was no telephone or television, so Cressida spent her time drawing and writing stories.

In the evening, Cressida’s father read the children tales of the Vikings, who had invaded this island Archipelago over half a millennium before, of the quarrelsome Tribes who fought and tricked each other, and of legendary dragons who were supposed to live in the caves in the cliffs. This was how Cressida herself first began to write stories about Vikings and dragons, back when she was eight or nine years old. Many years later, she turned her original childhood ideas into the book How to Train Your Dragon, featuring Hiccup the reluctant Viking, and his equally reluctant dragon, Toothless.

When Cressida wasn’t on the island, she was going to school at Marlborough College in Wiltshire where she met and became close friends with Lauren Child, a fellow author/illustrator and the creator of TV’s Charlie and Lola. Cressida and Lauren remain close friends. Indeed Lauren is godmother to Cressida’s daughter Clemmie.

After school, Cressida obtained a BA in English Literature from Oxford University, a BA in Graphic Design from St Martin’s and an MA in Narrative Illustration from Brighton.Cressida wrote and illustrated her first picture book, Little Bo Peep’s Library Book, for Hodder Children’s Books in 1998. Her first novel for eight to twelve year olds, How to Train Your Dragon, was published to popular and critical acclaim in 2003: ‘The next big thing in children’s literature,’ wrote The Independent on Sunday. ‘Irresistibly funny, exciting and endearing,’ said The Times.

How to Train Your Dragon has now been published in over thirty languages. Film rights were sold to DreamWorks Animation in 2003 for a substantial sum and the filmed version was released into cinemas in March 2010. The 3D animated film from the studio that created Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, was directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois (the directors of Lilo and Stich) and produced by Bonnie Arnold (who produced Toy Story).